Wife of jailed Taiwan activist discusses human rights in U.K.

2018/04/19 17:27:23

London, April 18 (CNA) Lee Ching-yu (李凈瑜), the wife of Taiwanese human rights and democracy activist Lee Ming-che (李明哲), called on the United Kingdom to pay more attention to China's human rights abuses, during a U.K. parliament hearing on Wednesday.

In November last year, Lee Ming-che was sentenced to five years in prison for "subverting state power" because of comments he made and information he circulated on social media about democracy, freedom of expression and human rights in China.

An administrator at Wenshan Community College in Taipei, Lee Ming-che went missing March 19 last year when he entered China from Macau and was held in incommunicado for more than eight months.

On Dec. 28, he was transferred to Chishan Prison in China's Hunan Province.

The activist's wife is on a trip to Europe to solicit international support for her husband's release.

During her stay in the U.K., she will call on government officials and parliamentarians and attend a hearing titled "The Darkest Moment: The Crackdown on Human Rights in China 2013-2016" held by the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission to highlight concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in China.

Grace Geng (耿格), the daughter of dissident Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng (高智晟), and Wang Bingwu (王炳武), brother of imprisoned Chinese dissident Wang Bingzhang (王炳章), who was kidnapped by the Chinese government in Vietnam in 2002 and subsequently sentenced to life in prison, were also present at the hearing.

During the hearing, Lee Ching-yu issued a plea for the British government to pay more attention to the human rights situation in China, an emerging world power, and its potential global impact.